INSIDE

WWW. USAID.GOV FrontLines Photo by Dr. Dhafer Baker MAY 2009 T H I S INSIDE I S S U E Salman Pak vocational school opens in Iraq. See page 6. A sheikh reads about Iraq Provincial reconstruction teams at the grand opening of a Mada’in school. obama boosts Aid, troops for Afghanistan, Pakistan By Ben Barber President Barack Obama laid out a new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan on March 27, increasing military force and civilian aid to “disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” “Our troops have fought bravely against a ruthless enemy,” Obama said in Washington. “Our civilians have made great sacrifices.” He pledged increased aid. The president ordered an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, “and to prevent their return to either country in the future,” and 4,000 troops to train an Afghan army and police. “This push must be joined by a dramatic increase in our civilian effort,” said the president. U.S. specialists in agriculture, education, engineering, and government would help Afghanistan’s government eliminate corruption and win Afghans away from Taliban recruitment. USAID will be growing to carry out parts of the new strategy. “This is the biggest recruitment for USAID since the Vietnam War,” said Jim Bever, head of the Agency’s Afghanistan-Pakistan Task Force. see obAMA on page 15  FrAMEwork objEctIvES: Peace and Security Afghan agriculture battles Taliban, opium .. . . . . . . . . . . see page 16 Governing justly and Democratically Indonesia decentralizes government, shifts power to local leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . see page 5 Investing in People Leahy War Victims Fund helps people with disabilities in 30 countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . see page 12 Economic Growth Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion, discusses four traps that keep countries from developing . . . . . see page 11 Humanitarian Assistance Lebanon cleans up after oil spill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . see page 3 Additional $4.8B Sought for Foreign Assistance in 2009 By Angela Rucker In an urgent supplemental request, President Barack Obama has asked Congress for an additional $4.8 billion in foreign assistance to increase staffing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, fund ongoing programs in Iraq, and carry out an urgent list of other activities for fiscal year 2009. The money is part of an $83.4 billion supplemental request sent to Congress April 9 to fund U.S. military, diplomatic, and intelligence operations in fiscal year 2009. The request includes $2.3 billion for State Department operations, bringing the total request for additional foreign aid and operations to $7.1 billion. It comes on top of the more than $40 billion already appropriated in 2009 for foreign assistance and for State and USAID operations. The Agency will use some of the additional money to support the Obama administration’s new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, see ASSIStANcE on page 14  Photo by Ben Barber, USAID Secretary of State Hillary rodham clinton greets students during her visit to rosa Duarte Public Elementary School in the Dominican republic April 17. clinton toured the USAID-supported school and announced that the United States will provide $12.5 million over the next five years for a new Effective School program to include reading, writing, math, and school administration. FIrSt ScHooL: Pakistani boys attend their first school, set up by USAID beside the Indus river in a camp for people displaced by an earthquake in 2005. classes included basic hygiene and Urdu language. the United States is strengthening aid to Pakistan and Afghanistan—see pages 1 and 16. U.S. Agency for International Development bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs washington, D.c. 20523-6100 Penalty for Private Use $300 official business Obama Seeks $100B More for IMF By John Waggoner World leaders pledged April 2 at the G-20 world economic summit in London to assist poor nations by adding $1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund—including $100 billion from the United States. “The challenge is clear,” President Barack Obama said. “The global economy is contracting. Trade is shrinking. Unemployment is rising. The international financial system is nearly frozen.” The Obama administration will ask Congress to add $100 billion to the IMF for poor nations struggling under the global economic downturn— nearly doubling the current U.S. commitment—Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. see IMF on page 15  PRSRT STD Postage and Fees PAID USAID Permit No. G-107 Photo by Rene Taveras, U.S. Embassy, Santo Domingo Page 2 INSIDE DEVELOPMENT wHAt tHEY ArE SAYING . . . A column devoted to what our partners and others in the field of foreign assistance are saying about development Former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke March 4 at a forum of The Center for U.S. Global Engagement which released a report entitled: “Putting Smart Power to Work: An Action Agenda for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress.” Following are excerpts of his remarks from that forum. power and the first thing they said: health. Give the people of the world a better chance at having a healthy life for themselves and for their children; the alleviation of poverty, the alleviation of hunger, all of these are things the United States can do—and by so doing, we influence the world to move in a better direction and we improve our standing in the world… And so we need to make sure that these sorts of instruments of power and influence are used and enhanced. But it takes money. When I became secretary of state, I had 20 reports waiting for me. And my staff said, let’s—I don’t want to be offensive here—my staff said, let’s have a summary of the reports. And I said, no, we’re not going to do any more reports, we’re not going to summarize anything; we’re going to go up to Congress and fight like dogs to get money because we could have a lovely chat here about all of this stuff, but I’m telling you, it comes down to trench warfare with the Congress. I’m sorry, it’s trench warfare because these gentlemen who are up on the Hill trying to accommodate all of the needs of all of the departments—and if you look at the president’s budget, almost every department got some kind of increase. Very few—I’m not quite sure how we’re going to reduce the deficit—all of them got increased. State did better than most and I’m proud of that and I’m glad for that. But, at the end of the day, that’s just a budget proposal. Now it takes people like Jack Lew and others to go up there and fight tooth and nail to get the money. I know how this is done. I had to do it for the four years I was secretary and for the four years that I was chairman [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]. And so lots of nice talk—we all know what’s right. We all know we ought to be moving in this direction. We all know we ought to increase the size of the Foreign Service and the Civil Service of the State Department. We know we ought to be doubling development assistance. We ought to be improving our immigration policy, fixing our information programs and significantly increasing the size and capability of [US]AID and working more closely with the other instruments of government, the other departments of government. But, at the end of the day, you’ve got to go get the resources. And you’ve got to get the resources in two different ways: First you’ve got to appeal to the case to the American people, guess what? They tend to influence the American Congress as to how to fund it. But then you get down in the trenches. You put your helmet on, your flak jacket and you go testify before eight committees, as I used to do every year. It’s painful. I’m supposed to be out doing diplomacy. No, I’m up on Capitol Hill doing hearings. And the next thing we have to do is to persuade our friends in the Congress to sustain and support our efforts, support the increases the president has asked for and knock off all of the earmarks that constrain the ability of the secretary of state to use these resources in a sensible way. Cabinet officers greater flexibility, some money that is not earmarked, that is not even necessarily for a particular purpose: increased contingency accounts so when an emergency comes along, you have the resources to do something about that emergency without stealing from another account. Increase the size of the force that we have within the department: Foreign Service, Civil Service, Foreign Service Nationals, same thing with [US]AID, do a better job in information. And there’s one other aspect to this and it’s part of another group I belong to, the Initiative for Global Development: We have enormous resources in our private sector. So this isn’t just the United States government reaching out. Real money for investment exists in the private sector and we have to do a better job of mobilizing the private sector to help us with the influence that we need around the world and increasing that influence. And we’ve got the Bill Gates of the world; we’ve got the Bonos of the world. We’ve got all kinds of people. We’ve got companies that are doing business all over the world and they have to be brought into this smart power, smart influence concept. And I’ll stop right here. For the entire transcript of the forum, go to http://www. usglobalengagement.org/Events/ PuttingSmartPowertoWork/ tabid/3636/Default. aspx#Transcript. For more on “Putting Smart Power to Work,” see page 5, “20 Foreign Aid Reports Agree on Need to Boost Civilian Force.” . Well, first of all, let me congratulate the Center for pulling this together, and I appreciate the “Report of Reports,” which summarizes the efforts of 20 different groups. I think the term smart power is a significant improvement over the terms we’ve been using in the past—soft power and hard power—that really didn’t describe what we’re all about. But I’m not entirely comfortable with smart power because the term “power” suggests that there’s some kind of conflict going on and instruments of power being applied. I think what we ought to talk about is smart influence… Maybe the world isn’t as completely flat as Tom Friedman says, but it’s certainly flattening rapidly. With the ability to move capital and information and knowledge and risk around the world at the speed of light, the world is fundamentally changed. America has to be a part of that world and I think what we’re talking about here is smart power, smart influence, is to use the real tools and strengths that we have as a society—our compassion for the rest of the world. You know, the report that was done by my colleague, Rich Armitage and Joe Nye, talked about what’s smart America has to be a part of that world and I think what we’re talking about here is smart power, smart influence, is to use the real tools and strengths that we have as a society—our compassion for the rest of the world. American people and get them to buy into the importance of these efforts. We haven’t done a good enough job. The American people still think that foreign assistance, development assistance, is something we just give away to the rest of the world with no return on investment. The answer is, there is an enormous return on investment when the rest of the world looks to America for inspiration and for help dealing with their problems. So, first and foremost, a better case to the American people and, if you make a better I’ve had some painful experiences where an authorizer and an appropriator had a difference of opinion as to how I was supposed to spend one little $10 million account. Both threatened to have me impeached if I didn’t do it their way. Well, being a smart man, I went with the appropriator because he’s the one that signs the check. I rest my case, right … But it’s painful. And I shouldn’t be having to do that. I should have greater flexibility. And I hope it’s part of the increased resources; we will find a way to give the 2 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Page 3 DIALOGUE MISSIOn OF the MOnth LEBANON INSIGHTS FroM ActING ADMINIStrAtor ALoNZo FULGHAM complete the project prior to the upcoming tourist season, thus providing small businesses with a chance to recover their livelihoods.” About 270 local laborers— including fishermen—were hired and trained for cleanup operations. USAID also cleaned and repainted 100 fishing boats, allowing fishermen to resume their work and earn a living. “They even changed our ropes,” the fisherman said. “For 10 years I had the same ropes and nothing else. They came here, cleaned the marina for us, and provided us with work and then they gave us new ropes. “At least now I can go into the sea. They cleaned my boat and painted it. I can be sure to have some form of income again: I can feed my family.” On March 27, President Barack Obama announced a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan—the culmination of a thorough, 60-day review that gave USAID a prominent seat at the table with its interagency partners. At the White House announcement, I was seated next to U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, and our new Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry. This symbolically reinforced the substance of the president’s remarks, which called for enhanced roles for defense, diplomacy, and development in carrying out the new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan—what he called “two countries but one challenge.” One of the major shifts in the strategy is to emphasize our diplomatic and development efforts. This means resources to put more civilian expertise on the ground and greater emphasis on regional diplomacy—all backstopped by high-level focus in Washington. As the president said, a “campaign against extremism will not succeed with bullets or bombs alone.” The Monday following the White House event, Jim Bever, director of the Agency’s Afghanistan-Pakistan Task Force, and I traveled with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Deputy Secretary Jack Lew to The Hague for the U.N. International Conference on Afghanistan. There the delegation briefed over 80 countries and 20 international organizations on the new approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan. When Special Representative Richard Holbrooke led the U.S. delegation to the Pakistan Donors’ Conference on April 17, USAID was also prominently represented. I was pleased to join Ambassador Holbrooke in announcing the U.S. government’s pledge of $1 billion over two years—a down payment on the proposal by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) to provide $1.5 billion a year in direct support to the Pakistani people over the next five years. The conference resulted in over $5.2 billion in pledged assistance for Pakistan’s economic development. The Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy underscores the central importance that development will play in the Obama administration. But the confidence that is being placed in the Agency also requires that we implement significant changes in the management of our resources. With the appointment of Special Representative Holbrooke, the administration has put one of the nation’s most seasoned diplomats in charge of a reinvigorated engagement strategy with principals in both countries as well as America’s allies. Moreover, where before military assistance was privileged, Secretary Clinton has indicated that three-quarters of the new funding requested for Afghanistan and Pakistan will be managed by State and USAID. And this funding will be more strategically programmed to deal with issues that better answer to the needs of combating political extremism—alternatives to poppy production in Afghanistan and more services provided to the tribal areas of Pakistan. At the field level, USAID’s staff ceiling in Pakistan was recently increased by 81 positions, and we have pledged to provide an additional 150 staff for Afghanistan by the end of the fiscal year. USAID will utilize its full range of hiring mechanisms (including the new Civilian Reserve Corps) to meet these commitments. I appeal to all of our staff to step forward and serve at this critical moment in our nation’s history. As I have told our senior leadership, I am willing to curtail assignments to ensure that we are meeting this challenge with the greatest talent the Agency has to offer. The Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy can be a showcase for the “smart power” that the Obama administration is calling for and the beginning of a new template for this nation’s foreign policy. The new emphasis on development in the architecture of this nation’s foreign policy will require all of us to meet the challenges before us. We must and we will rise to the occasion. . with USAID’s support, workers clean up oil spill along Lebanon’s coast in 2006. Lebanon Cleans Up Oil Spill Along Coast challenge When a bomb tore through the Jiyeh power plant along the northern Lebanon shore in July 2006 in the midst of fighting between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, 10,000 to 15,000 tons of heavy fuel oil fouled the 100 kilometers of coastline from Jadra in the south to Abdeh in the north. It was an environmental as well as an economic mess. The oil spill affected people who depend on tourism and fishing. Business owners and fishermen in the oil-contaminated areas quickly found themselves destitute. Their boats were heavily coated with oil, and they faced a daunting, oily Mediterranean Sea. “We had nothing after the spill, and I hated the sea,” said one fisherman. “I did not want to go into the water. Every time I wanted to go in I would wind up all in oil.” The economic pain extended to local restaurants, beach resorts and other tourist venues. Owners lost their sources of income overnight. The once vibrant area was frozen in economic paralysis. Innovative Approach USAID took quick action. In coordination with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, the Agency spent $5.8 million to clean up 43 locations along the northern seashore once the conflict ended. This stretch of shore is home to hotels, resorts and restaurants; four public fishing ports; and three archeological sites. The Agency contracted to remove pools of oil and oil-contaminated debris. Approximately 1,300 cubic meters of oil-contaminated waste and more than 2,000 cubic meters of oil-contaminated sand were collected from all locations. The contaminated waste was disposed of in locations identified by the Ministry of Environment. “The negative economic impact of the oil spill on the Lebanese tourist industry and fishermen was a challenge,” said USAID’s Director in Lebanon, Denise A. Herbol. “Cleaning and restoring the affected areas to an environmentally acceptable level required time. With the final push by USAID and the Ministry of Environment, we were able to successfully result The interventions worked: the sea shore was environmentally acceptable again, and businesses resumed normal operations. The work took about two and a half years to complete. The cleanup pumped $3 million into the Lebanese economy by hiring local laborers, purchasing equipment from local vendors, renting boats from local fishermen, and using local caterers and lodging. The long-term environmental impact of the oil spill is less clear. While there was an immediate impact on health, biodiversity, fisheries, and tourism, the long-term implications for the environment and the economy have yet to be seen. The spill has been called the worst ever in the Mediterranean. All told, USAID provided $230 million to Lebanon for humanitarian, reconstruction and security assistance in the aftermath of the conflict. This article was written by USAID’s office in Lebanon. . WWW.USAID.GOV 3 Page 4 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS BrIEFS Somali Pirates Attempt to Hijack U.S. Food Aid Ships U.S. food aid worth $5.3 million made it safely to port in Kenya last month after four Somali pirates boarded the U.S.-registered merchant ship Maersk Alabama April 8, and then held its captain hostage on a lifeboat for several days. U.S. Navy SEALS killed three of the men and took the fourth into custody. The Maersk Alabama steamed on to Mombasa, Kenya, while the hostage situation unfolded. The ship carried vegetable oil, corn soy blend, wheat, and dehydrated vegetables bound for Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda. Some 7 million people receive U.S. food aid in the three countries. Just days after the Maersk Alabama incident, pirates unsuccessfully attempted to board another U.S.-flagged ship, the Liberty Sun, which carried $12.7 million in USAID food aid to the region. No one was injured and the Navy escorted the vessel to its destination in Kenya. The attack on the Maersk Alabama was believed to be the first time that a ship carrying U.S. food aid has been boarded. However, piracy has been rampant in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia in recent months, with most ship owners paying hefty ransoms for their ships and crews. USAID delivered $290 million worth of food in 2008 to alleviate hunger in Somalia and Kenya—USAID’s two largest food programs. of donor nations’ gross national income, said the 30-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Last year, the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan were the biggest donors by volume in net overseas development aid. The United States’ donation represented a 16.8 percent increase in real terms. That figure includes all forms of development assistance, including disaster and debt relief programs, that the United States gave to any entities in developing countries. Aid from all European countries together totaled $70.2 billion. The OECD called for an additional $10 billion to $15 billion to achieve 2010 international development goals. Haiti’s Hurricanes caused $1b in Damage UNITED NATIONS—Last year, hurricanes that hit Haiti killed 800 people and caused $1 billion in damage. They were followed by a drop in money transfers from Haitians working abroad caused by the global financial crisis, the top U.N. envoy to the Caribbean nation said April 6, according to the Associated Press. Hedi Annabi told the U.N. Security Council that continued humanitarian aid is critical to provide food, education, and jobs. He expressed hope donors would provide funds for immediate road rebuilding and steps to lessen the impact of future hurricanes; and for longer-term investments to improve ports and electricity and revive the private sector, especially the garment industry. India Gets biggest Share of Aid for water and Hygiene NEW DELHI—Although India is emerging as a financial and technological power, it still receives almost twice as much development assistance for water and sanitation as any other country, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. A report slated for publication in May says India accounts for 13 percent of all water aid, while Iraq—the next biggest recipient—gets 7 percent, the Financial Times reported April 7. India receives about $830 million a year in water and sanitation aid, more than double the amount provided to China. New Delhi’s biggest backer is Tokyo, which supplied $635 million of assistance from 2006 to 2007. South Asia has the lion’s share of children dying from diarrhea and disease. An estimated 400 million people live on less than $1 a day. UNICEF, the U.N. children’s fund, says that less than half of India’s 1.2 billion people have access to a lavatory. Defecation in the open poses a serious health risk and is responsible for high mortality rates among children. Donors Pledge $1.2b for African transport LUSAKA, Zambia—International donors and lenders on April 6 pledged $1.2 billion to improve road and rail links between eight southern African countries to reduce transport bottlenecks and costs along the main trading routes through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Botswana, and Mozambique. Delays at borders, taxes, and poor quality roads raise prices for shipping and damage trucks. International lending institutions and donor governments promised $1.2 billion toward the project—with half coming from the African Development Bank over the next three years, said the Associated Press. The World Bank pledged $340 million, with additional support from the European Union and Britain. Washington made no new commitments but has already pledged more than $500 million to rehabilitating roads and other infrastructure in Tanzania and Mozambique, USAID representative Franklin Morris said. helped make 2008 the most dangerous year on record for aid workers, with 122 killed while carrying out their work, a report showed on April 6. Some 18 were international aid workers but the overwhelming majority were local staff. Aid work is now more risky than U.N. peacekeeping as attacks become increasingly politically motivated in some countries, researchers said, according to Reuters. There has also been a dramatic increase in kidnappings over the past three years. Altogether, 260 humanitarian workers were attacked in 155 serious incidents in 2008—compared with 27 incidents in 1998, according to figures compiled by the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) in New York and the Overseas Development Institute in London. “We were surprised,” said CIC fellow Abby Stoddard, who co-wrote the report. “The numbers are quite startling and certainly the fatality rate exceeds that of U.N. peacekeepers.” Most violent places were: Somalia, where 45 aid workers were killed; Afghanistan with 33 deaths; Sudan with 19; Pakistan, five; Democratic Republic of Congo, four; and Sri Lanka, Chad, and Mozambique, which saw three deaths each. purification sachets. It said heavy rain was continuing to fall in the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Zambia. This would wash more water down the Zambezi basin and could flood east to Malawi and Mozambique, it added. USAID targets reproductive cancers in Georgian women In the wake of International Women’s Day March 8, USAID launched a Global Development Alliance called “The Survive Project” to reduce morbidity and mortality from cervical and breast cancers in Georgia. As part of the partnership, NGOs, businesses, foundations, government entities, and primary health care providers will take a key role in educating clients and the public about cervical and breast cancer. Additionally, Georgian women will learn about risk factors, symptoms and benefits of early detection, and will be educated about seeking out screenings and adopting proactive, healthy behaviors. At the signing, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia Acting Assistant Administrator Ken Yamashita said, “Survive’s focus on women’s right to health, right to quality care, and freedom from stigma fits perfectly with the timing of International Women’s Day. This partnership values women as productive contributors to society and the economy, and targets some of their primary health problems.” Cervical and breast cancer incidents have risen dramatically over the last decade, and is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among adult Georgian women. Although there are almost twice as many cases detected in North America as in Georgia, only one fifth of cases are fatal compared to about half in Georgia. The disproportionate mortality risk for Georgian women is attributed in large part to delayed detection. From news reports and other sources. . Southern Africa Hit by worst Flooding in 50 Years With more than 100 people dead, an area 1,500 kilometers wide, from Namibia in the west to Mozambique, faces rising waters from several rivers, the BBC reported April 8. The Red Cross has managed to reach a small fraction of the more than half a million people affected. It appealed for helicopters and boats to reach isolated communities. Nearly 100,000 people have already been made homeless and the flood waters are expected to remain for at least the next four to eight weeks. The Red Cross said it had only reached about 35,000 people across the region with basic humanitarian aid, like mosquito nets, tarpaulins, and water Global Aid rises to $120b World development aid last year rose to the highest dollar level ever recorded—$120 billion—despite the economic crisis—and U.S. assistance led the world with $26 billion of that aid. Assistance to the world’s poorest nations increased 10 percent in 2008 to $120 billion, equivalent to 0.3 percent 2008 Deadliest Year for Aid workers LONDON—Violence in Somalia and Afghanistan 4 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Page 5 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS Nepal radio Program Decentralization in Indonesia Lets People tell of core Shifts Power to Local Leaders beliefs and Motivation By Sven Lindholm kAtHMANDU, Nepal—“I believe in the alphabet because it has the power to change life. I realized the power concealed in the alphabet on the very first day I joined the adult literacy class. For the first time, I was introduced to letters that stood for my name.” These words opened an essay by Chameli Waiba of Bajrabarahi in the Makawanpur district of Nepal. Waiba is one of 26 Nepalese who shared core beliefs and philosophies with audiences countrywide as part of a series entitled Mero Jindagi, or My Life. In recent years, Nepal ousted its monarchy, ended a Maoist rebellion, and formed a new government through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in late 2006—all of which politicized religious, caste, and ethnic groups. Antenna Foundation Nepal, through a USAID grant, began broadcasting a radio and television documentary series based on the U.S. National Public Radio program, This I Believe. major social change within the United States. It said its aim was “to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization.” The first of 26 essays and documentaries in Mero Jindagi began Dec. 3. The essay by Waiba, 36, has been translated by Antenna Foundation Nepal and was broadcast on National Public Radio’s This I Believe segment in the United States Feb. 15. In her essay, Waiba compared her life to a nearby lake, stagnant before she enrolled in adult literacy classes. However, she said as a result of the classes: “My new knowledge of words boosted my confidence and courage, I made a resolution… I and my sisters and brothers should be given education as much as we would like.” Through this resolution, she helped get a bridge built in her hometown so children could attend the village school on the other side of the river, which is impassable during monsoon season. “Now I cannot express my satisfaction seeing children running to school over that bridge. It is a bridge of iron, a bridge of letters, a bridge of community,” Waiba wrote. “Nothing is achieved without the cooperation of all.” She also helped start microsaving women’s groups and said she would like to run permanent literacy classes for women and open a library. “All this is the result of my knowing the alphabet, even though I learned it late,” said Waiba, describing the impact literacy classes have had on her life. “Letters have immense power. They have magic. The greatest thing in the world is the alphabet. That is my belief.” Waiba’s essay can be accessed at www.npr.org/templates/story/ story.php?storyId=100677646. Go to www.thisibelieve.org to learn more about the U.S. program. . Each morning, residents of Kebumen Regency in Indonesia’s Central Java Province tune their radios to “Good Morning Regent,” a call-in show where ordinary citizens can ask questions of their local government leaders. Pak Rosyid, headmaster of a local high school says of the show: “It is a positive step by our government, since it can respond to citizens’ needs directly. Now we know that the local government is really working for us.” The show is part of the legacy of Rustriningsih, who uses only one name and who became Kebumen’s first directly-elected regent in 2005. She said she believed that to govern effectively, she needed to hear the problems and concerns of Kebumen residents. It is also one outgrowth of the decentralization of power which began in 2001, just three years after the fall of Soeharto and the introduction of democratic politics. In a very brief period, hundreds of subnational governments were vested with new responsibilities for local public services, about 30 percent of the national budget was devolved, and roughly 2.6 million central government employees became employees of subnational governments. Not surprisingly, in a country with 250 million people, there were problems such as inconsistent policies, uncertainty about intergovernmental roles and responsibilities, bureaucratic foot dragging, and weak district capacity. Since 2001, USAID has worked alongside Rustriningsih and other governors, mayors, councilors, and civil society Ikhsan Yasin Limpo, the regent of Gowa in Southern Sulawesi, attended a USAID tour of U.S. local governments and then conducted a survey of views on education in Gowa. voters line up to cast their votes in an Aceh local election in December 2006. leaders in 100 jurisdictions to meet some of these challenges. USAID helped local officials to embrace consultative and transparent decision-making. Citizen report cards, citizen charters, and electronic customer service centers improve public services. “Decentralization is clearly a driving force in Indonesia,” said USAID Democracy Officer Kate Somvongsiri. Rustriningsih took unprecedented measures to repair public schools and provide other public services. She was featured in a 2003 New York Times article about her brand of clean politics. Last year, the citizens of Central Java elected her their vice governor. In South Sulawesi, Gowa Regent Ikhsan Yasin Limpo held a public survey of citizen views see INDoNESIA on page 14  Photo by USAID 20 Foreign Aid Reports Agree on Need to Boost Civilian Force In the past two years, approximately 500 foreign policy experts—including members of Congress from both parties, former Cabinet secretaries, military and business leaders, and heads of NGOs—contributed their expertise to 20 different assessments of America’s foreign assistance systems. They focused on the need to strengthen the civilian capacity to solve problems around the world as a critical part of the U.S. national security strategy. Collectively, the reports come to more than 2,000 written pages, a testament to the widely perceived need to urgently modernize foreign assistance and better integrate it into the nation’s foreign policy. In March, the Center for U.S. Global Engagement released a report on these reports, summarizing their recommendations for the Obama administration and the 111th Congress. The Center’s “Putting ‘Smart Power’ to Work: An Action Agenda for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress” provides a summary of the 20-odd reports that largely share a common view about the need to recalibrate a foreign policy overly reliant on the military. The military itself has agreed on the need to shift from military to civilian in aid programs and has often stressed the need for America to rebuild civilian agencies and programs. Nearly all of the reports recommend substantial increases in resources for civilian programs and staffing. As three former USAID Administrators pointed out in a number of fora, USAID has roughly half the number of staff as compared to 1980, during the height of the Cold War. Apart from recommending substantial increases in funding for USAID and the State Department, “Putting ‘Smart Power’ to Work” also identifies other areas of widespread agreement among the experts and a number of actions that the U.S. should take as part of a new “smart power” strategy. see ForEIGN AID on page 14  Photo by Antenna Foundation Nepal chameli waiba The project was initially suggested by U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell. This I Believe has its roots in a 1950s U.S. radio broadcast of the same name. Hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow, the program ran during the start of the Cold War and at a time of WWW.USAID.GOV 5 Photo by USAID Page 6 THE rEGIONS ASIA MIDDLE EASt timorese register Land Iraqis reopen Vocational School in Baghdad By Ashtar Analeed Marcus claims for First time By Dorelyn Jose DILI,timor-Leste—Alberto da Silva, a retired civil servant from Aiteas village in the Manatuto district east of here, was relieved—he just registered his claim to the land where his house has stood for many years. This is the first time Timorese have had the opportunity to register a claim to property since the country was internationally recognized as independent in 2002. The country’s history of successive colonization—first by Portugal for over four centuries and then by Indonesia for 24 years—has resulted in overlapping land claims. “There was originally a boundary dispute with his [da Silva’s] neighbor, so he asked us to give him some time before registering their land claims,” said Geraldo Gomes, who is the field manager for the land claims project in Manatuto district. “Through the mediation of local leaders, he and his neighbor agreed on a compensation scheme, and when they were ready, they called us.” Da Silva said the first thing he plans to do with pension money he expects from Portugal and Indonesia is to have a good fence built for his land—something he could only dream of doing until now. “I am happy because now we have peace,” he said. Transparency is integral to claims collection. Once all the claims in a certain area have been collected, the teams display maps allowing the community to scrutinize the results. According to Gomes, relatively few disputes—about 5 percent of recorded claims—have arisen so far in Manatuto. “Overall, people are just appreciative of the opportunity to make their claim, and they are understanding that others must also have the same opportunity,” said Ita Nia Rai conflict resolution specialist, David Alves Lopes. This is only the beginning for claimants like da Silva who hope for passage of a land law that formally recognizes property rights through land titles. The Transitional Land Law is expected to be enacted later this year. According to Antonio Verdial de Sousa, the National Directorate’s director, recording of land claims will be expanded soon. “Following the success of the program in the pilot areas, we plan to expand the activity in two new areas—Aileu, south of Dili, and Baucau, east of Dili …. We have already consulted with the local authorities there, trained the data collectors and field coordinators for the new areas, and the communities are ready to welcome the program,” he said. To see this project in action, check out: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9xbnxQV1hOw. . bAGHDAD, Iraq—A vocational school for 700 students has reopened in Baghdad with USAID assistance. The Mada’in District Council reopened Salman Pak Industrial School March 24. The school aims to improve business and job skills through classes in sewing, generator maintenance, welding, automotive repair, plumbing, electrical installation, masonry, and carpentry. Iraqi officials called the renovation of Salman Pak Industrial School an important community priority, after insurgent attacks destroyed much of the building. Short-term jobs for unemployed laborers and long-term jobs for the staff were created by the school’s construction. The Iraqi Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Mada’in District Council worked with USAID’s Provincial Reconstruction Team representative, U.S. military, and local security officials to complete the project. “The reopening of the school will provide Iraqis with useful skills in a competitive job market and local employers with a qualified labor force that increases their productivity,” USAID’s Director in Iraq, Christopher D. Crowley, said. The MoE offers technical and vocational training in the last three years of secondary education. There are 154 industrial vocational education schools in Iraq, according to the ministry. USAID invested $600,000 in the project as a part of its country-wide efforts to help create an environment for stability and establish the conditions for long-term development to take hold in violence-affected areas. The Iraqi government contributed $58,000 in labor and in cleanup and disposal. The MoE will continue to maintain the building grounds, provide full-time security, and retain qualified teachers. . retired civil servant Alberto da Silva and his neighbor are just some of the timorese who have registered their land claims. Iraqi sheikhs attended the reopening of Salman Pak Industrial School in Mada’in and read the February issue of FrontLines. the article on the Iraq Provincial reconstruction team’s tami Halmrast-Sanchez sparked a dialogue at the event. A USAID assessment determined that conflict over property contributed to violence in 2006, especially in the capital of Dili. Secure land tenure is crucial for the country’s stability, and insecure property rights discourage productive investments in most sectors of the economy, project leaders said. As of March, 891 land claims have been registered through the USAID-supported Strengthening Property Rights in Timor-Leste project—known locally as Ita Nia Rai or Our Land—working with the National Directorate for Land and Property. The team started registering land claims in November 2008 in two pilot areas—Liquica, west of Dili, and Manatuto, east of Dili. Twenty-two data collectors working in teams and trained by project staff continue to record land claims in the pilot districts. LAtIN AMErIcA Peruvian Women Work to End Violence in Coca-Growing regions By Marcela Cardenas MEbADANHU, Peru—When a group of people from the indigenous community of Mebadanhu in the Peruvian Amazon attended a recent workshop on gender-related violence, the women remained silent, giving the appearance of disinterest in the issues being presented. Then suddenly a woman stood up. “When men get drunk,” she said, “they force women to have sex and often they also beat us up.” Immediately, a dozen other women got up and shared stories of the same abuse while the men remained silent—except one who claimed similar abuse from women. The courage to discuss such a sensitive topic is one sign that the concerns of women are finally being brought into the open. Although they have come a long way on the road to empowerment, Peruvian women living in the former coca-growing areas where USAID works still have a long way to go. The workshop, organized by USAID’s Alternative Development Program (ADP), began in late 2007 in alliance with the Red Nacional de Promocion de la Mujer (Network for the Promotion of Women) to support women in areas where government services are scarce and narcotrafficking and violence are common. The transition from growing coca to producing legal crops requires a transformation in the mentality of an entire community. More often than not, it is women who lead the way. “Twenty years ago I arrived as a teacher,” said Severa 6 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Photo by Dr. Dhafer Baker Photo by ARD Inc. Page 7 THE rEGIONS AFrIcA EUroPE & EUrASIA Anemia, Malaria rates Drop in Malawi children USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began the pilot indoor spraying program in Nkhotakota District two years ago. The district was hard-hit by malaria, and its natural boundaries provided an ideal pilot site. The program worked closely with the Ministry of Health, Nkhotakota District Health Office, and Illovo Sugar Estates to spray approximately A home in Malawi’s Nkhotakota District 28,000 houses in is sprayed with insecticide to combat 2007 and 25,000 malaria—a major cause of childhood anemia. houses in 2008. The spray, a biodegradable district were sprayed during the insecticide, was applied on walls first round—coverage high inside houses to repel and kill enough to protect even people malaria-spreading mosquitoes, living in houses that weren’t which are most active late at sprayed. night when people are sleeping. The study concluded that Nearly 90 percent of the houses high coverage with spraying, in the designated area of the along with use of long-lasting nets and effective case management, reduces anemia rates. PMI also worked with the Ministry of Health to procure a national supply for 18 months— over 9 million doses—of artemisinin-based combination therapy, the country’s new firstline malaria treatment; and approximately 1.2 million longlasting nets, used as protective barriers when people are asleep. “On the basis of this successful pilot,” Wolf said, “the Malawi Ministry of Health is planning to scale up the [spray] program to include six additional highly malaria endemic districts.” PMI is working with the International women’s Day parade in tocache, Peru. National Malaria Control Program and the University of Bejarano, a community leader lence, poverty, and malnutrition. Malawi’s Malaria Alert Center from Tingo Maria. “There was “I was able to persuade to evaluate the effect of the no school, no road, no agriculscale-up of these malaria preventural products, just coca, viosee PErU on page 14  tion and treatment programs. . Photo by USAID NkHotAkotA, Malawi— Fighting malaria through indoor insect sprays and other strategies does more than reduce malaria—it also substantially reduces anemia among young children in this part of Malawi. Malaria is one of the major causes of childhood anemia. So the reduction in anemia is often used as an indication that malaria control programs are working. After spraying the interior walls of homes, anemia in young children dropped from 22 percent to 12 percent in Nkhotakota District’s spray area, the anemia and parasitema (A&P) survey reported. A second round of spraying began in October 2008 and was scheduled for evaluation in April. The A&P survey confirmed the understanding that indoor residual spraying is highly effective, particularly when used with insecticide-treated bed nets and prompt treatment, said USAID Senior Malaria Advisor Katherine Wolf. The drop in anemia rates here is due in part to efforts by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). The five-year, $1.2 billion initiative, housed within USAID, aims to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 focus countries. Moldovans Double cabbage Yield with New technology By Emily Patterson cHISINAU, Moldova—Ala Novac and her husband, Andrei, used to grow and sell their vegetable crop each year using traditional techniques everyone else used. So productivity was low and they harvested at the same time as the other farmers, selling their crop when prices were at rock bottom. But they received a $2,000 grant for new technology to grow cabbage earlier than usual, a grant from USAID. Matching those funds, the Novacs invested in cell trays, which produce a higher transplant success rate for seedlings, installed drip irrigation to provide a more precise application of water and reduce costs, and bought agril, a microporous material that covers plants to protect them from frost. Prior to planting, the project’s staff advised the couple on new seed varieties, and gave them in-depth training on business management and the new technology. “The project really helped me,” Ala Novac said. “I could call their consultants on the phone any time I had technical questions. They would always get me the answers I needed.” Energetic and innovative, Novac was the first farmer in her village to use agril and drip irrigation. She nearly doubled her production from 25 tons/hectare—the average cabbage yield in Moldova—to 45 tons/hectare for the first crop. She also brought produce to market two weeks before the normal harvest season began. During those two weeks, the Novacs sold their produce at three times the regular price. Because they harvested early and had prepared new seedlings, they were able to plant a second crop for the fall, increasing their profits even more. Ala Novac organized a group of women to plant the same seedlings at the same time, allowing them to sell in the large quantities the buyers wanted. As a result of the Novacs’ work with USAID, field demonstrations and seminars were organized at the Novac farm for over 130 farmers interested in implementing the new technology. Even though Moldova’s economy is agriculturallybased, the country still imports see MoLDovA on page 14  Photo by Katherine Wolf, USAID USAID project consultant Eugen revenco discusses the new technology of tomato seedling production with Ala Novac. WWW.USAID.GOV 7 Photo by ACSA Page 8 FOCUS ON ALBANIA ALbANIAN woMAN IS FIrSt trAFFIckING vIctIM ADMIttED AS U.S. rEFUGEE USAID Seeks New ways to Protect victims of trafficking Growing up, “M” (her real name is withheld for her safety) wanted what we all want—love, respect, and opportunity. She lived with her family in a small town in Albania and was preparing to start high school. But when she was 14 years old, instead of joining her classmates, an acquaintance of the family smuggled her into the European Union (EU) and forced her into prostitution. Over the next six years, she tried repeatedly to get away from her traffickers, was kidnapped by a rival crime group, was attacked and almost killed by one of her traffickers, and deported back to Albania twice without EU or Albanian authorities realizing she was a minor being trafficked for sexual exploitation. Fearing reprisal from her traffickers, she did not tell anyone what was happening. Just after she turned 21, she was deported back to Albania again. But this time she found the courage to tell the Albanian authorities that she had been living in fear for the last six years, denounced her traffickers, and was put into the protective custody of a secure shelter for returned victims of trafficking. The shelter was supported by USAID and other international donors. Only one of her traffickers was prosecuted and sentenced to jail time. Worse yet, to this day, one of the traffickers continues to live in the same small town where she grew up and where her family still lives. This situation directly threatened “M’s” safety. After trying for over three years to improve security so “M” could restart her life in Albania, staff at her secure shelter began to explore reintegration options outside Albania. For two years, shelter staff applied for her protection in surrounding EU countries, targeting first the countries where she had been exploited. Photo by USAID An awareness-raising poster prepared by local high school students reads “No Prostitution: Stop corruption.” report Says trafficking victims come From Mainstream Society When USAID’s Albania office began its anti-trafficking program in 2003, there was little reliable information on how trafficking in human beings was taking place. But now, the program has published its fourth annual report which serves as an almanac for anti-trafficking activists in the country, presenting information about government, civil society, and international initiatives underway in Albania. The latest report, “State of Efforts in Albania to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2007-08,” includes an extra chapter on trends in human trafficking based on individual case data provided by antitrafficking shelters. It is commonly believed that victims of trafficking are primarily from minority communities, from outside major urban areas, and have extremely low levels of education. The data in the report challenges these assumptions by concluding that: Over 90 percent of the victims for sex trafficking in the shelters come from the general Albanian population; only 9 percent were from the Roma and Balkan Egyptian minority communities. Most were recruited from moderately economically distressed urban areas. The majority were recruited in their home communities by someone they knew. Over half had completed compulsory education. It is difficult to obtain reliable information about human trafficking due to the violent criminal nature of the business and the collaboration of traffickers, their clients, and their business partners. Victims are reluctant to come forward for fear of life-threatening reprisals against themselves or their family members. In addition, some government entities across the globe are under pressure to demonstrate an increased capacity to combat the phenomenon. As a result, systemic data gathering is sometimes discouraged, and authorities are rewarded by decreasing the official numbers of identified victims. Increased data collection and analysis by independent governmental agencies and NGOs is essential to combat the problem of severe exploitation of children and women every year. A full copy of the report is available online at: www.caaht.com/reports.htm. . After visiting the women in the vatra Shelter, art students were encouraged to express their feelings on trafficking through painting. Paintings, such as this one with captive doves, depict their empathy with the victim showing turmoil, fear, pain, and loneliness. Since 2003, USAID has supported anti-trafficking programs. Seen as a criminal for violating immigration laws rather than a victim of trafficking, her request for asylum was turned down. Because of the barriers with EU countries, the shelter, the International Organization for Migration, and USAID’s antitrafficking advisor in Albania, Kelly Cronen, decided to seek refugee protection in the United States. In March 2008, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana submitted a refugee referral to the Department of State, asking that “M” be granted protection as a victim of trafficking who faced grave security risks in her country of origin. Visas for victims of trafficking began to be issued under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. These visas are available only to persons who have been trafficked to and exploited in the United States, and who are willing to report the crimes to federal authorities. Applications from outside the United States are rare and accepted only on a case by case basis for extreme situations; there are no formal protection mechanisms for victims who live and were exploited outside the U.S. In mid-2008, immigration authorities went to Albania to interview “M” and U.S. Embassy officials about the refugee application. By August 2008, the U.S. government granted her refugee status and permanent residency in the 8 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Photo by USAID Page 9 FOCUS ON ALBANIA this picture hangs at the entrance of the vatra Shelter, the first shelter in Albania to house returned victims of trafficking. Photo by USAID Directors of the four NGo shelters in Albania sign a Memorandum of Understanding that formalizes cooperation between the shelters. Left to right: Arian cala, executive director, Another vision; Fatbardha Idrizi, executive director, Gjirokaster community center; vera Lesko, executive director, vatra Psycho-Social center; and Marjana Meshi, executive director, Different and Equal Shelter. Photo by USAID this drawing was produced by a student who participated in an anti-trafficking awareness-raising activity supported by USAID. bodies of women held in chains form the word, “StoP.” Above the figures reads “we are not for sale!” What Happens to Trafficking Victims Without a Safe Reintegration Plan? By Kelly Cronen In working in antitrafficking, there are several stages one goes through. One is the first time you really get to know a victim of trafficking. You see the humanity in their eyes and wonder how something so horrible could happen to another human being. After you get to know more women who have been trafficked, you realize that first victim is not so special, the horror of her story is not so unique because the forced exploitation is happening every day on an organized, large scale. There have been a number of cases where I have been amazed by the women’s stories—a plump 15-yearold trafficked through nine different EU countries and not one of the authorities she encountered helped her. A curly-haired, 20-year-old woman with puckered scars covering her hands, knees, and ankles sent back to the country where police knew her trafficker was waiting for her. As complicated as some cases are, most of the time, shelter social workers are able to find a durable solution to the reintegration needs of the victims. However, there are always a couple of cases where no matter how hard you try, there just doesn’t seem to be a solution. “Z” (name withheld for her protection) was one such case that broke my heart. Over the course of a year, I had befriended “Z,” a strong-willed 23-year-old who was trying to recover from being trafficked to the Netherlands. She wanted something better for her life but her parents and especially her brothers didn’t want her to come home because of the shame she had brought on her family. She didn’t have a high school diploma or the skills to find a job that could support her. After living in the shelter for more than a year and seeing the constant struggle of other women trying to re-make a life for themselves, she became hopeless. One day she came to me, gave me a hug, said good-bye and that was the last we ever heard from her. I still wonder what could have been done differently to give her another chance. Having first worked in a shelter as a Peace Corps volunteer before joining USAID, I know that what we do in anti-trafficking does impact peoples lives. But I also know that in some cases, you have to take that extra step and work really hard to make a change. When I started working at USAID, I came across the case of “M”—someone who needed the policy makers to take that extra step so she could have a real chance at reintegration [see accompanying story]. In a perfect world, USAID programs would have saved both women, but I’m deeply grateful we were able to do something for “M.” I hope the successes and lessons learned from granting refugee protection to “M” can be used to pave the way for other difficult reintegration cases that USAID programs are working to assist. Kelly Cronen is USAID’s anti-trafficking advisor in Albania. . FIrST PErSON rEPOrT: Above the outlines of Albania and Italy, a student’s poster reads “Stop trafficking of human beings.” Although there have been strides in reducing the number of women trafficked to Italy, the European Union remains a key destination for many victims of trafficking. once identified, these women are often deported back to Albania before their security situation is properly analyzed, which complicates the reintegration process. United States. The U.S. government helped her find a supportive resettlement community and provided her with a modest stipend for her first eight months in the U.S. When she meets requirements, “M” will be eligible for U.S. citizenship. In the fall of 2008, “M” left the shelter to begin her new life in the United States. She plans to get her high school diploma and wants to try to go to college to become a social worker. “I called her the day after her departure to make sure she arrived in the U.S. safely,” said Cronen. “Her first words spoken in the U.S. to the customs officials were: ‘I am out, I am out.’” After eleven long years, she was finally safe. . WWW.USAID.GOV Photo by USAID 9 Photo by USAID Page 10 WHErE IN THE WOrLD. . . FEbrUArY 15, 2009 – MArcH 14, 2009 ProMotED taniece L. baldwin Auditor Avis brown Administrative Specialist La Quinthia b. carroll Auditor Marcelle k. Davis Staff Assistant Anthea c. Hazell Program Assistant Lisa Mccabe Auditor Ami Morgan Program Analyst (ICS) Maria F. Naldo Fontelo Administrative Officer chi k. Pham Accountant wendy v. Seth Criminal Research Specialist Michael t. Shepler Human Resources Specialist kimberly t. wiggins Accountant Nadereh chahmirzadi Lee COMP/FSLT to Colombia joshua Eli Mike COMP/NE/OJT to Philippines/ OED kira Mickie Mitre COMP/NE/OJT to Colombia catherine N. Niarchos COMP/LWOP to COMP/FS tammy L. Palmer COMP/FSLT to Peru/JOPA carrie A. rasmussen COMP/NE/OJT to Philippines/ PHN Danielle M. reiff Uganda/JOPA to COMP/FS katherine rodriguez COMP/NE/OJT to Philippines/ OED Shannon M. rogers COMP/NE/OJT to Haiti/HRD rudolph thomas Benin/D to Madagascar/D bradley A.tucker COMP/NE/OJT to Indonesia/ PROG Saiming t. wan COMP/NE/OJT to RDMA/ OFM crystal N. weathersby RIG/Dakar to Ethiopia/CONT Marcelle j. wijesinghe M/OAA/GRO to Bangladesh/ RAA Peter E.Young Afghanistan/OD to O/S LANG TRNG Sheila A.Young Sri Lanka/D to O/S LANG TRNG IN MEMorIAM Vincent William Brown, 84, died March 11 in Laguna Hills, Calif. Brown became a Foreign Service Officer at USAID’s predecessor agency in the mid 1950s, and had been a project manager on the Marshall Plan. He spent part of his Agency career managing U.S. assistance programs in Tunisia, the Congo, South Korea, and Pakistan. From 1972-1977, he served as director of the USAID program in Afghanistan. In an e-mail to FrontLines, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ted Eliot said: “Vince Brown served as director of the USAID program in Afghanistan for four of the years I served there as ambassador. He was a true professional in the field of development—in fact, a pioneer beginning with his service in the time of the Marshall Plan. He was in every way a model public servant, giving his time, energy, and expertise to his country in many difficult assignments.” Brown held a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of California at Los Angeles, and was a graduate fellow in International Relations at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. After retiring from the Agency in 1977, Brown worked as a consultant in international development. Brown was also a Navy veteran, having served as a chief petty officer during World War II. . Hometown Diplomats: Hometown Idols By Trudy Neely Bountiful, Utah; Westminster, Md.; and Tipton, Iowa, all have something in common: They have been welcoming back hometown residents to share stories of international development work with the local townspeople, colleges and universities, and public interest groups. Since the July launch of the USAID Hometown Diplomats Program, Agency officials have been telling about the U.S. foreign aid program in newspaper articles and at speaking engagements. “When R. David Harden isn’t busy briefing Barack Obama or Tony Blair, he’s working to make peace in the Middle East,” the Carroll County Times wrote in their front-page article about their local Maryland hero Aug. 11, 2008. As the deputy director for USAID’s program in the West Bank and Gaza, Harden manages $500 million to provide medical assistance, promote businesses in the region, build roads and other infrastructure, and create peace and prosperity through other initiatives. While Harden is proud of what he does, he is also “trying to improve Westminster,” his hometown. In August, Harden met with Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson and City Administrator Marge Wolf. The Hometown Diplomats Program prepares overseas staff on home leave to participate in press interviews, speak at public meetings, address students at universities, and appear at other public forums to showcase the work of USAID. rEASSIGNED Aaron bishop COMP/NE/OJT to Ethiopia/ CONT Elizabeth c. Davnie Easton COMP/NE/OJT to Kenya/ PROG Dona Mari Dinkler OIG/I/LAC-E&E-A to OIG Patrick c. Fleuret Sudan/OMD to COMP/FS kay j. Freeman LAC/RSD to COMP/LT TRNG benjamin Garrett COMP/NE/OJT to Afghanistan/ OEG theodore L. Iv Glenn COMP/NE/OJT to Nepal/PPD william P. Hammink AA/EGAT to Sudan/OMD james M. Hope East Africa/PDPS to Kenya/D timothy Lamping RIG/Baghdad to OIG/A/IT&SA Senior Democracy and Governance officer Paul randolph and his wife pose far from their Iowa home in cambodia, where he works for USAID. rEtIrED tully robinson cornick joanne M. Paskar Marion G. rutanen whaley MovED oN Angela E. Fortune robert A. kahn timothy reuter The program also shows how tax dollars are used to help reduce poverty, create healthier societies, respond to natural disasters, and improve international governance. The program’s written goals state that it “presents a unique opportunity for the Agency to engage the American public through the voices of our own personnel while at home here in the states.” For Cambodia’s senior democracy and governance officer, the Tipton Conservative and Advertiser in February stated, “Paul Randolph’s visit home presented an opportunity for an ‘inside view’ into the life of a career USAID Foreign Service Officer, a job that can be just as demanding, and often as dangerous, as the work of many who serve in our military.” Ron Mortensen, who works with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, met with the Davis County Clipper in Bountiful, Utah. “I work with some of the bravest, most fearless people I’ve ever seen,” Mortensen told the newspaper in March. “The people who do this are running into conflict as other people are fleeing from it.” Elizabeth Palmer, a controller in Amman, Jordan, talked to 50 students about global careers with USAID at Arizona State University in October 2008. For more information about the program, contact Trudy Neely, Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, at (202) 7124036 or gneely@usaid.gov. . 10 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Photo by Sierra Randolph Page 11 IN-HOUSE NEWS kIMM HoNorED For HoUSING work At USAID Peter Kimm, who served 36 years with USAID as an expert on housing, has been honored by the Cooper Union Alumni Association which named him as one of the 150 outstanding alumni over the 150 years of the school’s existence. Kimm helped millions of poor people in developing countries obtain decent shelter, clean water, and other services. After leading a combat unit in Korea in 1952 and 1953, Kimm worked as a steel worker and then as a supervisor while attending college at night. He received his professional engineering license from New York State in 1961. Kimm was the director of Housing and Urban Programs for most of the 36 years he worked for USAID. He oversaw urban activities and programs in some 75 countries utilizing a system of regional offices that he established. Later, he directed the U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership from 1998 to 2002. In addition to leading programs that financed housing and urban infrastructure, throughout his career Kimm advanced international best practices in such areas as community participation, slum upgrading, institution building, incremental housing construction, and local financing as well as promoting environmentally sustainable economic growth. He is now chairman of the International Housing Coalition which advocates with world decisionmakers for “Housing for All,” especially slum dwellers. He has been an advisor to the World Bank, the United Nations, and The Communities Group, among others. His work has been recognized by many awards including the United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honor in 1996 and the USAID Distinguished Career Service Award in 2002. The Cooper Union Alumni Hall of Fame was to be dedicated in New York City on April 17 and will become a part of the Great Hall Gallery exhibition. . FrontLines Seeks Cartoonist 1. Can you draw? 2. Do you have a sense of humor? 3. Can you illustrate some of the everyday successes and trials of development? Send an e-mail indicating your interest and a sample cartoon to FrontLines@usaid.gov. Cartoons may be single or multi-frame, color or black and white, and may be used for publication. The cartoonist should provide near-ready material, with captions or dialogue. We are open to ideas and suggestions. We pay only in gratitude. In much of Asia as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East, a squat toilet (also known as an eastern or natural-position toilet) is widely used rather than the “western” flush toilet. In these areas, water is used in place of toilet paper. So when a well-meaning donor places water taps far from toilets, it may be more sanitary but it could delay an urgent bodily need. Interview with Paul collier Oxford University Professor Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion and a leading scholar on international development, spoke with FrontLines Editorial Director Ben Barber on March 2. Q: What are the four traps that you say—in your book, The Bottom Billion—keep the poorest 1 billion people from developing? coLLIEr: There’s no one explanation for why these countries, about 60 of them with about a billion people, why they’ve not prospered like the majority of the people in the developing world. But I think there are four syndromes or traps that account for most of it. One is, some countries are just landlocked without valuable natural resources. And therefore your opportunities shrink, especially if you’re surrounded by a bad neighborhood of other countries. Africa is split into so many different countries, so a lot of them are landlocked; same with Central Asia. Those are the epicenters of that particular trap. The second trap is having valuable natural resources [such as oil], but instead of it being an opportunity for transformation, they become something that’s contested, the politics turns sour and they become a curse. A third trap is large-scale violent conflict—typically these civil wars go on for more than 10 times as long as international wars and have a heightened risk of going back into another one. These civil wars are development in reverse—they destroy the economy and leave an appalling legacy. The final trap is starting from bad governance, having a society that’s small, probably ethnically divided. Bigger societies and more homogeneous societies seem better at reforming out of bad governance rather faster…. When you’re big, you institutionalize power relationships, and when you’re small, there’s alliances. Q: How can these traps be sprung? coLLIEr: You have to widen the set of instruments for dealing with the problems. Obviously, aid is one. When America 60 years ago decided that it was imperative to redevelop Europe, America used the whole waterfront of policies: a big aid program—Marshall aid—and a total reversal of American trade policy. Before the Second World War, America had been highly protectionist. After the Second World War, it opens its markets to Europe and commits itself to that through setting up the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. So aid is part of it; trade is part of it. What else? America totally reverses its security policy. Before the Second World War, it was isolationist. After the Second World War, there’s over 100,000 America troops in Western Europe for over 40 years. So security is part of it. These countries are often structurally insecure. And then the final dimension is involvement in other countries’ governments. And again, total reversal: Before the Second World War, America has this extreme policy of non-interference. It won’t even join the League of Nations. And after the Second World War, it sets up the United Nations; it sets up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development— OECD. It sets up the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. It encourages Europe to form the European Community. These things work in combination—aid, trade, security, governance…. And, of course, they’ll be different from the cocktail that was needed to restore Europe. Q: Can culture be a trap? coLLIEr: I’m skeptical of claims that culture is a trap…. cultures change as a result of economic change. In the streets of Seoul, people used to basically shuffle along slowly. And now, the sidewalks are so like the sidewalks of New York—people bustle and stride. And of course what’s happened there is the value of time has gone up, and so people have speeded up. We haven’t got much clue how to change a culture in the hopes that that will change the economy, but we have got quite, pretty decent clues about how to change the economy in the hopes that it’ll change a culture. see coLLIEr on page 13  WWW.USAID.GOV 11 Cartoon by A. S. Dasgupta, USAID Page 12 IN-HOUSE NEWS In Iraq, Kevin Rushing Builds Bridges to Revive Battered City FALLUjAH, Iraq—In the past year, Kevin Rushing has greeted so many Iraqis that he has mastered the art of the perfect handshake. That simple gesture has helped him mend relationships and win support for his projects. “A man who has a good handshake can win over people,” said Rushing, 56. “He can work a community—one sheikh to the next—shaking hands with officials, with colleagues, with strangers. People remember him, they listen to him, and they embrace him. “Relationships mean getting to know people who have influence, listening to ordinary Iraqis explain what they need most, and striking a positive connection.” Rushing is USAID’s representative in the embedded provincial reconstruction team (ePRT) for Fallujah in Anbar province, working with the military to bring a sense of normalcy to communities that experienced some of the bloodiest fighting in the war. He has always been an intrepid adventurer. However, his decision to come to Iraq was partly inspired by his 30-yearold son, Benjamin, who served 15 months with the U.S. Army in Iraq as a communications specialist and endured tough challenges, including the loss of some friends. “My role has been to advise the Iraqis on how to retain peace and stabilize communities: building trust, bringing a sense of normalcy, and convincing them to invest in business,” said the Belleville, Ill., native. When Rushing arrived in May 2008, the conditions on the ground were ripe for dialogue. The U.S. military was in the process of transferring control of Fallujah, a city of 400,000, to the Iraqis. The decline in violence allowed stabilization and reconciliation work to move ahead. With a portfolio of $50 million, Rushing enlisted the help of sheikhs and tribal leaders in the communities to revive the city. Among a slew of projects, local officials identified the renovation of Jolan Park as a priority, after insurgents used the area to launch attacks. Rushing examined the horse and recommended medication; the horse recovered quickly. “That simple gesture was worth several meetings for my ePRT collegues,” he said. When the U.S. Marines at Anbar PRT provided 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows to generate steady income to keep their children in school, Rushing examined all the cows before they were distributed. After his tour ends in May 2009, Rushing is moving to Nepal with his family to lead USAID’s office there. “The Himalayas are calling me back,” he said, with his sights set on climbing Mount Everest. Looking back at his year in Iraq, Rushing says Fallujah is undergoing changes in both small and big ways. Small shops and restaurants have opened amid relative calm. And if this stability endures, he said, the Americans will soon pack up, leaving the city in the hands of the Iraqis. . Leahy: U.S. Aid to War Victims Is Moral, Beyond Politics wASHINGtoN—Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) commended USAID’s work in using funds for disabled victims of war at an April 1 hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. “It’s interesting when you talk about the issue of foreign aid, especially when you have a time like this where our own country, the economy is in dire straits. It’s so easy to demagogue it and say, ‘Let’s not send help overseas,’” said Leahy, who chairs the subcommittee. Addressing Dirk Djikerman, USAID’s acting assistant administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, who spoke at the hearing, Leahy said: “What you and your colleagues do is demonstrate that there’s a moral aspect to this.” “We’re the wealthiest nation on Earth. And even with the economic problems today, to not respond, I think, goes to our very conscience and our very morality. It goes way beyond a political or an economic issue.” The Leahy War Victims Fund has provided $165 million for more than 250,000 civilians in 30 countries. The fund provides assistance to people living with disabilities, particularly those who cannot walk as a result of land mines, polio, and other preventable diseases. Last year, the fund spent $12 million on aid. In addition to critical rehabilitation care, the fund supports increased economic opportunities, the design and reform of policies relating to people with disabilities, and improved quality of care and life for civilian victims of war. “As a result of direct support from USAID, 228 students from more than 40 countries have or are in the process of receiving standardized training as rehabilitation professionals,” Djikerman said. Two other funds, the Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund and the Afghan Civilian see LEAHY on page 14  kevin rushing The renovated park has paths and gazebos, providing residents a safe place to gather and enjoy themselves. The municipality worked with the reconstruction team, U.S. military, and local security officials to rebuild the park, creating short-term jobs for unemployed laborers and longterm jobs for the maintenance crew. Rushing has also worked on local projects in agriculture, small-business financing, and power-generation. Rushing works out of offices that are surrounded by concrete blast walls and sandbagged machine-gun posts; he wears flak jackets and moves in armored vehicles on trips he takes outside the wire. “The ePRT team is my extended family and I am fortunate to have good rapport with my colleagues,” he said. “My team leader and I complement each other well—combining soft power of influence and hardedged diplomacy—we are in many ways like Batman and Robin.” Rushing, who speaks Russian and Bahasa, has worked in Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Russia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Jamaica, and Ethiopia. His veterinary skills have also proved valuable in creating goodwill. While traveling to a meeting with an influential Iraqi official, Rushing learned that the official’s Arabian horse had developed respiratory problems. IN-HoUSE brIEFS Medical Students Explore Global Health, Foreign Policy wASHINGtoN—Twenty medical residents from George Washington University visited USAID March 24 to learn more about global health, foreign aid, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The visit was part of a threeweek public health policy rotation that includes visits to Congress and federal agencies. The rotation culminated with a series of meetings and discussions on global health at USAID. Dr. Robert Ferris, senior treatment advisor in the Bureau for Global Health’s Office of HIV/ AIDS (OHA), spoke about his role as an antiretroviral treatment advisor working for USAIDfunded PEPFAR programs. Tim Quick, a senior HIV/AIDS nutrition advisor, identified a change in PEPFAR policy that reduces the time and cost to nutritionally rehabilitate patients. And OHA’s Roslyn Matthews talked about congressional expectations for PEPFAR programs carried out by USAID. trade agreements and negotiations, and analysis of market information. The office also administers international food aid programs and helps expand food availability in developing countries. Former USAID officer to Head Foreign Agricultural Service On March 23, Michael Michener was named administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for international activities. Michener has worked in USAID missions in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He later joined the State Department, serving as the lead Iraq policy officer for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, managing nearly $400 million in assistance programs promoting democracy and human rights. Most recently, Michener was the senior democracy and governance advisor and lead planning officer for the State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. FAS focuses on market development, international Development Leadership Initiative begins Fifth New class On March 30, DLI Class V began its five-week orientation session. The 40 new Foreign Service Officers have a diverse mix of experience, speak 15 different languages, have already worked in 34 different countries overseas, and represent 11 fields of work. To date, USAID has hired 22 mid-career officers: 17 controllers, four lawyers, and one economist. To plan for trainee deployment and expansion of overseas positions, a joint USAID and State Department working group has been established in Washington. Resource requests have been made to meet capital expansion costs. . 12 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 PAGE 13 IN-HOUSE NEWS coLLIEr from page 11 Q: If USAID hopes to assist the bottom billion, what policies should change? coLLIEr: Where the capacity of the state to deliver is very limited, I suggest independent-service authorities, which is that the retail delivery of services is contracted out to whatever works, as many channels as possible: NGOs, churches, private sector, local communities, whatever works. In between the ministry that does the planning and the retail delivery on the ground will be the independent-service authority, a quasi-public agency which contracts with retail providers and monitors their performance…. It’s much more realistic than trying to rebuild the state. And it’s something that can be scaled up fast. I’ve just been working in Haiti, and at the moment, 90 percent of basic services are provided outside the state. But it means that no public monies, no aid money is going to [the state]. With independent-service authority, the government would have a role; it could co-brand the service, so it would be visibly doing something. We’ve tried for 40 years to build something that looked like Europe in the 1950s, and it hasn’t worked. Maybe we should get the message that a different design is appropriate in these environments. The other thing is budget support. There’s been a really big divergence between America and Europe and I think it’s time for a synthesis. Europe was right that if you can empower the government, and the government gets it right, that’s the best model. And America’s been right that Europe has just shut its eyes to the realities of how its money has been spent. So what I would like to suggest is that donors create independent verification systems to determine whether a budget system is fit to the budget’s form… whether it’s got the same sort of integrity as our own budget systems. Q: That’s what you’d ask? coLLIEr: If money leaks, it’s not just that it’s wasted. It’s captured by people who then use that money to finance patronage networks. And so you’re building exactly the problem from which fragile states suffer. They are empowering the crooks, so the people who lose out on that are those brave people struggling for change. Q: What do you think are USAID’s distinct advantages and what are its weaknesses? coLLIEr: Well, I’ll give you one huge advantage at the moment, which is Obama: a massive, massive advantage. You should not underestimate it, really. Africans are not just intrigued by Obama, as most Europeans are. The big difference is that Africans are proud of him. And that pride, if you think about it, is the basis for a lot of legitimacy in American access. If Obama stood against Mugabe in a fair election, he’d win. So America’s got a new, a new perceived legitimacy in Africa, way beyond anything that Europe’s got. And you’re always going to be taken seriously. You’re America, you’re big. Q: How should we use that to achieve some progress here? coLLIEr: Well, I think partly you should be bold. You’ve got quite a lot of freedom for maneuver. You can make a difference. I think if I were you, if I was America, I would start with Haiti. I [went] there in March with [President] Bill Clinton, [U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations] Susan Rice and [U.N. Secretary General] Ban Ki-Moon. We started this report for Ban Ki-Moon back in December on what a growth strategy would look like. And Haiti has opportunities. The hard things have been done in Haiti. There’s 7,000 Brazilian peacekeepers providing security and America has provided a very, very favorable 10-year trade deal, Hope II. What’s left is the simple things, like providing decent infrastructure to enable industry, especially the garments industry, that could use Hope II to be competitive. I think Haiti— amongst the fragile states or whatever you call them—Haiti is about the best-positioned to break out, because it’s not in a bad neighborhood, there are big geographic advantages in being so close to the American market, a huge diaspora in America. I think it would be very good for everybody’s morale if a state like Haiti was gradually put on the road to success. America would have shown that it could be central to the turnaround of what had been regarded as a basket case. And it’s in your backyard. Q: How will the current global financial meltdown affect the bottom billion and efforts to improve their lot? coLLIEr: What a big setback. The pertinent issue is have we put this to some good? You know, it’s an ill wind that blows no good, so this is an ill wind. Can we find some good in it? And I think one good is the ending of the global commodity boom, which is the biggest single negative for the countries of the bottom billion. They’re getting less money for their exports. But that showed countries how they were unsustainable with a development model just based upon extractive industries. And so it’s an important lesson that these things are intrinsically temporary, and the moment has to be harnessed by saving revenues and using them for investment. The other possible silver lining is about China, which is not at all part of the bottom billion but is a competitor to the bottom billion in lowwage manufacturing. China’s whole development model of the last few years has been export, export, export to here, to America. And now exports are collapsing. So China is faced with the choice of either letting industry collapse or re-orient demand towards the home market. If it has any sense at all, it will be the latter. Q: As opposed to what? What else can it do? coLLIEr: Well, it could shut its industry down. I’m assuming it’s got some sense. It won’t shut its industry down, it will just build the domestic market for those products. Q: How can the food crisis be resolved? coLLIEr: I am against this ban on GMOs [genetically modified organisms]. I say that you need a mutual deescalation of folly, in which Europe would give up this ridiculous ban on GMOs and America gives up its huge subsidies of biofuels. And if those two were done, then world food supply would be so much higher that we wouldn’t have a food crisis. . Sighted at USAID USAID’s chapter of blacks In Government hosted Dorothy E. Nelms, former president of Federally Employed women, at Agency headquarters March 24 to celebrate women’s History Month. Nelms spoke about women on the front lines of solving environmental problems. “women are inextricably linked to issues of environmental sustainability as mothers, as caretakers, as food producers as consumers and as nurturers,” said Nelms. She cited Ilyse Hogue, head of rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance campaign, which encourages financial institutions not to invest in environmentally damaging projects. Melinda kramer, a co-founder of the berkeley, calif.-based women’s Global Green Action Network, helps train women in Africa, china, and Siberia to become grassroots environmental advocates. WWW.USAID.GOV 13 Photo by Ashtar Analeed Marcus, USAID Photo by Patricia Adams, USAID At an April 6 meeting with USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham, South korea’s vice Foreign Minister Shin kak-soo discussed closer USAID-korea collaboration to help developing countries. they discussed Afghanistan reconstruction efforts including vocational training, public health, millennium development goals, and climate change. the U.S. and korean officials also expressed plans for ongoing bilateral development assistance discussions. Page 14 CONTINUED. . . ASSIStANcE from page 1 LEAHY from page 12 which calls for an increased focus on regional development along with an increased military presence in Afghanistan. At press time, Congress had taken up the measure, but had not approved it. If the funding is appropriated, USAID plans to deploy 150 additional U.S. staff to Afghanistan, and add a smaller number of staff to its operations in Pakistan. Specifics in the request include: $375 million for good governance at the national, provincial, and municipal levels in Afghanistan; $464 million for economic growth, including job creation in the Afghan agricultural sector; $104 million for counternarcotics and alternative livelihood programs in Afghanistan’s poppy growing regions; $497 million in aid for Pakistan; and $482 million for democracy and governance support and economic development in Iraq. Funding would also help fulfill the recent pledge by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to assist people in the West Bank and Gaza, and assist developing countries affected by the worldwide economic downturn. . Assistance Program (ACAP), also provide assistance to victims. Since 2006, USAID has received $15 million for the Marla Ruzicka Fund. At least 1,500 Iraqis have received aid from the program, and more than 1.5 million Iraqi civilians have indirectly benefitted from 630 completed aid projects, according to a recent audit. “One project that I would like to note is a bakery in Salah ad Din,” said Djikerman. “Establishing that bakery has been a joint effort between 30 families, each of which has lost at least one member, either injured or killed, during the war.” “With USAID assistance, a sound business plan was developed and now the bakery is up and running and it is providing the primary income for those 30 families plus the people that they employ.” ACAP provides medical assistance to injured civilians in addition to building infrastructure for schools, clinics, and administration offices. If a family loses a breadwinner, ACAP provides business training to surviving family members. If the family’s source of income was lost due to the loss of livestock or a fruit orchard, ACAP can replace that. The program also allows orphaned children to continue to attend school. “We hear of somebody raising bees and selling the honey, and it seems like such a minor thing, but it’s a major thing to that family,” Leahy said. . —A.A.M. Flower Power Brings Jobs to Colombians and Exports to U.S. Shops Photo by Karl Grobl boGotá, colombia—thousands of colombians now grow flowers for export to the United States and other markets – for valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and other occasions. recently a contract was signed between tecnovo, an NGo that provides support to people affected by armed conflict, and Grower-2-buyer, a Miami-based company which distributes colombian flowers in the United States and canada. Flowers provide legitimate income compared to narcotics crops. the contract links former fighters with people who have lost their homes and the disabled to produce hand-made ceramic vases for miniature roses distributed by Grower-2-buyer. (See www.love-bunch.com.) MoLDovA from page 7 PErU from page 7 INDoNESIA from page 5 ForEIGN AID from page 5 Those priorities are: Formulate a comprehensive national security or global development strategy that elevates the role of development and diplomacy alongside defense Streamline the U.S. foreign assistance apparatus to improve policy and program coherence and coordination Reform congressional involvement and oversight, including revamping the Foreign Assistance Act Integrate civilian and military instruments to deal with weak and fragile states Rebalance authorities for certain foreign assistance activities currently under the Department of Defense to civilian agencies Strengthen U.S. support for tools of international cooperation. The Center notes that President Barack Obama and secretaries Hillary Rodham Clinton and Robert Gates have embraced the bipartisan call for “smart power” as the central thrust of their foreign and national security policy. The Center’s aim with this “Report on Reports” is to provide the administration and Congress with “a roadmap of consensus and priority action.” Pursuing a “smart power strategy” will require a multi-year effort, the Center says. However, implementing it is essential to renew America’s global leadership role and to help make Americans more secure and prosperous. For more on “Putting ‘Smart Power’ to Work,” see the What They Are Saying feature on page 2. . almost all of its out-of-season produce. Imported fruits and vegetables can cost up to five times the in-season price of locally produced crops, which means a higher percentage of people’s income is spent on food, and fewer people can afford to buy. Approximately one quarter of the population, or 40 percent of the workforce, has left the country looking for better-paying jobs. Even Ala’s daughter has left and currently lives in Portugal. But if small-scale growers can expand their out-of-season production, money that is now leaving the country could go to improving welfare and reducing the need to find better paying jobs outside the country. ADP works with the Moldovan NGO Agency for Rural Development (ACSA) to increase rural incomes and employment by improving the international competitiveness in Moldova’s high value agriculture sector. ACSA has a network of 400 agricultural specialists who are present in almost every village in the country. “I work extra hours and extra hard so that my children will come home from abroad and work with me here. This is my dream,” said Ala Novac. . authorities to provide a hectare of land to the community so we could grow food. Later on, we started growing coffee. Over time, we have created a coffeegrowers committee. When [stubborn] coca-growers had their coca eradicated, they left the area and we were able to live more peacefully and productively.” Women in the Peruvian central and eastern jungles who receive support from USAID commemorated International Women’s Day in March. In the San Martin region, ADP communities celebrated the end of coca dependence. In the year and a half that the Network for the Promotion of Women has worked with USAID, 1,200 people have been trained in gender and development, and 600 people have participated in gender-based violence workshops. “These women have a desire to overcome their circumstances—they dream of growing as persons and in the family context,” said Network coordinator Edita Herrera. “They are very open to learning new things, overcoming their fears and moving ahead. They tell us in our workshops, ‘I want to be a leader.’” . on education services, shortly after returning from a USAIDfunded study tour of U.S. local governments. The survey led local officials to address deficiencies. “People lacked the necessary income to pay for their children’s education due to unofficial fees, education not having been treated as a priority by government,” said Ikhsan. A 2008 public opinion survey funded by USAID found that trust in local government officials grew from 42 percent in 2006 to 55 percent in 2008; and 56 percent had more confidence in their local government than in their national government. Today, all 2,300 local and provincial officials are directly elected. This has invigorated local politics with successful local leaders running for higher offices. There is debate over the wisdom of decentralizing power to 492 districts. Since 2001, the number of new district and provincial governments has grown by almost half, increasing the number of local governments, many with weak capacity and limited resources. Decentralization has not solved all of Indonesia’s corruption problems, with investigations ongoing in as many as a quarter of Indonesia’s local governments. . 14 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Page 15 CONTINUED. . . obAMA from page 1 IMF from page 1 Some 450 people are to be hired. Obama backed increasing aid to Pakistan from $600 million to $1.5 billion each year for five years as proposed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The money will go to build schools, roads, hospitals, and democracy. He also backed creation of industrial parks known as reconstruction opportunity zones along the violent Afghan-Pakistan border region to develop the economy. U.S. aid to Afghanistan would no longer be shortchanged due to the burden of the war in Iraq, said Obama, who called for help in reconstruction from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other donors. USAID expects to double staff in Kabul to 500 and increase Islamabad staff by 60 percent to 250 to deal with “increasingly perilous” situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bever told FrontLines. The Agency will seek 165 American citizens to fill new positions in the two Asian countries and an equal number of Foreign Service Nationals. In addition, some 105 people will be hired by September to staff the Provincial Reconstruction Teams delivering aid in Afghanistan. These will include Foreign Service Officers, contractors, standby reserve corps, and even some newly hired Development Leadership Initiative officers. Obama vowed to clamp down on abuse or inefficiency in the U.S. aid program, saying: “the days of unaccountable spending, no-bid contracts, and wasteful reconstruction must end.” He said he will increase funding for strong inspector generals for State, USAID, and Afghan reconstruction. A white paper on U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, also released March 27, said that “a complete overhaul of our civilian assistance strategy is necessary.” It called for creation of agricultural jobs as the way to combat al Qaeda’s appeal. Raising living standards of local people, especially ordinary Pakistanis along the border region, is vital, says the paper. The new strategy also calls for using the media to counter al Qaeda and Taliban propaganda. Pakistan stands to gain economic assistance, including budget support direct to its government, as well as helicopters and training for its army and security forces. The new assistance strategy is based on “clear, hold, and build” tactics, said Bever, with U.S. and other security forces clearing and holding areas from Taliban influence followed by USAID building roads, markets, schools, and clinics. “We did it in Iraq and we’re going to do it in Afghanistan,” Bever said. Bever and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew visited Pakistan and Afghanistan in April. It was the first trip overseas by Lew since he became deputy secretary, with responsibility for U.S. foreign assistance budgets. He initially visited The Hague, where he joined foreign ministers from 80 countries to shore up support for the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Bever said the new U.S. strategy for the two countries includes “a shift to the east and south of Afghanistan,” where support for agriculture and jobs is intended to “drain the swamp” of the insurgency. The strategy also calls for improving the training of Afghan government officials to deliver services and a media campaign to promote the Afghan government’s role in improving living conditions. Bever noted that millions of girls and boys are in school, the death rate for children has fallen sharply, clinics and schools are open across most of the country, and average income (not derived from poppy) has grown by 9 percent a year recently. Some U.S. aid will also be directed to the internationallybacked Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and the Afghan government’s National Solidarity Program. USAID will also help the Afghan government increase revenue collection from taxes, fees, and customs. . The funds will go through the Treasury Department. The U.S. move takes place as the IMF and the World Bank reported in March that the financial meltdown that began in the richest nations at the end of 2008 had spread to medium income developing countries in early 2009. The World Bank reported that 94 out of 116 developing countries are now experiencing economic slowdowns. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the world is witnessing “a third wave” of a crisis that is now “hitting the world’s poorest, most vulnerable countries.” According to the Bank, the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II and will push approximately 46 million more people in the developing world into poverty. Their plight has been called a “crisis within a crisis,” and imperils the gains the developing world achieved over the last two decades. The crisis also raises the prospect of widespread political unrest. According to an IMF study, about half of the nations it defines as “highly vulnerable” are in sub-Saharan Africa. This comes even though the region would seem the farthest removed from the global financial meltdown. The U.S. and European recession reached poor countries primarily through decreases in trade, foreign direct investment, and remittances—the same vehicles that drove growth in the developing world when the world’s economy was flush and expanding. Investment in the developing world is expected to contract sharply, with projections showing a 20 percent decline between 2008 and 2009. This compares to the 10 percent or more growth that was estimated a year ago before the crisis hit. Since the 1990s, developing countries have become increasingly dependent on remittances, which the World Bank estimates have increased at double digit rates during that period. Remittances were flat in the second half of 2008 at the onset of the crisis and are expected to be even smaller in 2009 as migrants to the wealthy nations find it harder to earn the money they had been sending back home. . FrOntLIneS IS pUbLISheD by the thrOUGh the U.S. Agency for International Development, bUreAU FOr LeGISLAtIVe AnD pUbLIc AFFAIrS. "I realize that there are among us those who are weary of sustaining this continual effort to help other nations. But I would ask them to look at a map and recognize that many of those whom we help live on the 'front lines' of the long twilight struggle for freedom—that others are new nations posed between order and chaos—and the rest are older nations now undergoing a turbulent transition of new expectations. Our efforts to help them help themselves, to demonstrate and to strengthen the vitality of free institutions, are small in cost compared to our military outlays for the defense of freedom." —John F. Kennedy, Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid, March 13, 1962 Jay L. Knott Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative and Public Affairs Joseph A. Fredericks Director of Public Information FroNtLINES StAFF Ben Barber, Editorial Director Claire McIntyre, Production Editor Angela rucker, Writer Analeed Marcus, Writer John Waggoner, Writer Patricia Adams, Photo Librarian Mary Jane Cotter, Human Resources Coordinator and Employee Liaison corrESPoNDENtS: AFGE – Willy Hardin; AFr – Susan Quinn, Ranta Russell; AFSA – Francisco Zamora; ASIA – Jan Cartwright; cFbcI – Lauren Seely; DcHA – Rebecca Gustafson; EGAt – Jane Stanley; E&E – Jen Citrolo; EoP – Gloria Blackwell; Gc – Suzette Smikle; GDA – Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku; GH – Sandra Jordan, Roslyn Matthews, Chris Thomas; Jessica DiRocco IG – Debra Scott; LAc – Maxine Hillary; LPA – Barbara Bennett, John Waggoner; M – Jahmal Sands; ME – Hope Bryer, Lori Severens; otI – Sven Lindholm; SEc – Dwayne Moore, Lorraine Meehan Submit notices, story ideas, feedback to FrOntLIneS articles and requests to be added to the mailing list to FrontLines@usaid.gov. WWW.USAID.GOV 15 Page 16 SPOTLIGHT A potato farmer in bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. USAID provided farmers with root cellars, which protect potatoes and seeds from extreme weather. these facilities reduce crop loss due to weather by 50 percent, and allow farmers to store and sell potatoes during winter months for a higher profit. Photo by USAID A typical Afghan village will include trees bearing nuts and fruit; fields of grain and vegetables; walled gardens and orchards; flocks of ducks and geese; and goats, sheep, cows, oxen, horses, and donkeys for meat, milk, and farm power. Ancient irrigation systems often bring water dozens of miles to water fields. U.S. Support Focuses on Afghan Agriculture to Stop opium and taliban Afghanistan’s 25 million people have long depended on agriculture to provide them with wheat, fruit, wool, and jobs growing, preparing, and exporting some of these products. Decades of war damaged ancient irrigation systems and farm-to-market roads. To provide Afghans with jobs and income so they will not turn to opium cultivation or to the Taliban insurgents for money, U.S. aid programs will increasingly focus on supporting Afghan agriculture. U.S. Special Representative Richard Holbrooke said on a recent visit to USAID that agriculture improvements are the way to “drain the swamp” of young men turning to insurgency for cash. The photos on this page show Afghans restoring their fields and preparing produce for market, with U.S. assistance. . women sow seeds in an Afghan field as a farmer guides his plow in a timeless yet effective method to produce food. Photo by USAID Photo by USAID In kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, USAID has trained pomegranate farmers in proper sorting and packing of their fruit for export. the pomegranate, cultivated for centuries in Afghanistan, is a high-value crop that provides farmers with a good income. USAID has helped the farmers gain the international recognition they need to expand their market opportunities. A boy collects potatoes in bamiyan Province in central Afghanistan. In the background stands the empty niche carved in the mountain where a giant buddha statue stood more than 110 feet tall for 15 centuries until the taliban blew it up six months prior to the 9/11 attacks on the United States. 16 FrOntLIneS MAy 2009 Photo by USAID Photo by USAID